An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The
Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893
THOMAS M. REED, Jr., Register of the United States Land Office, with
headquarters at Seattle, was born in the old historic town of Coloma,
California, in January, 1857. He was the eldest son of Thomas M. and Elizabeth
H. (Finlay) Reed, the former of whom was one of the argonauts of California, and
concerning whose life detailed mention is made on another page of this volume.
The subject of whom we here make record was prepared for college in the schools
of Washington Territory, and then entered Princeton College, New Jersey,
graduating thereat with the class of 1878. Returning to Washington, he entered
the law office of Hon. Elwood Evans, of Tacoma, and later the office of Hon.
James McNaught, of Seattle, and was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court
of the Territory in 1881. He then entered the practice of his profession at
Olympia, forming a copartnership with J.T. Brown, which association continued
until 1885. Mr. Reed then practiced alone for two years, at the expiration of
which time he removed to Seattle, continuing in the line of his profession. In
1889, under the administration of President Harrison, Mr. Reed was appointed by
the President and confirmed by the Senate as Register of the Land Office, with
headquarters at Seattle. His district covers the public domain of northwestern
Washington, extending 130 miles south from the British line and from the Cascade
mountains to the sea. Mr. Reed was married in Olympia in 1887, to Miss Ida,
daughter of Gen. T.J. McKenny, whose biography appears in this history. One
child, Irving, has been the issue of the above union. Socially Mr. Reed
affiliates with the Royal Arch Masons and is a Past Odd Fellow.
Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in January 2004 by Jeffrey L. Elmer
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Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies
Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the
individual featured in the biographies.